Cora Bissett

Cora Bissett is a director, writer, actor and singer/songwriter. After graduating from the RCS in 1997 Cora worked as an actor for 14 years before launching her Production Company and flagship Production ROADKILL.

Cora is passionate about creating innovative cross-form work rooted in collaboration, and frequently seeks out ‘real life’ stories which feel urgent and untold. Her work has toured the UK and internationally. Amongst numerous awards for her work, she gained an Olivier for the acclaimed production ROADKILL in 2012 for 'Outstanding Production in an Affiliate Theatre’.

She has been an Associate Director with the National Theatre of Scotland, since 2014 where her work includes ADAM, a real life story centring on a young Egyptian trans man who settled in Glasgow was conceived and directed by Cora, written by Frances Poet. It opened at the Traverse Theatre during the Edinburgh Festival 2017 before going to the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. In May 2018 it played Brighton Festival and in Autumn this year comes to the Battersea Arts Centre. RITES, a verbatim production about FGM, which was co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and Contact Manchester and which toured across the UK in 201.

​Recent other work includes the remount of her popular Political Musical GLASGOW GIRLS, which she co-created with David Greig as well as directed, in 2017 and which will play the Kings Edinburgh and Kings Glasgow in Jan 2019; She directed the Scottish premiere of JUMPY at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh in Autumn 2016. She was co-lyricist and co-composer on Emma Donoghue’s new musical adaptation of her novel ROOM, which Cora also directed for its May 2017 opening at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Cora’s first play WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF opens at the Traverse during the Edinburgh Festival 2018 in which she will play the lead role supported by a live band of actor-musicians and will be directed by the Traverse Artistic Director Orla O’Loughlin.